In Doom's Defense

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Readers have written the final word on Doom 64, and it's mixed. Take a look at what you had to say to about Doom 64

By IGN Staff

Letter 1 Almost all N64.com does is point out the good points of the game and say how much they rock, and trivialize the low points, and it seems like the formula of a review here. But the game bashing put into weekly news seems a little too heavy and opinionated. The two examples I can remember are Blast Corps and Doom. Now, both Doom and Blast Corps are quality games, are good buys, and are some of the better work on N64. The few readers who write in and say that the game sucked monkey in their opinion very much discourages people from even trying the game and gives the game a label for those who get all there info from this site, to hold the game in the rankings that KIGold and MKtrilogy have been put into. I think the reason you get these letters is because the people who read your reviews, and make purchases on your advice, and for some reason they have differing opinions than you. In this way I bet that you get very few letter that say "you were right."

This is what I'm getting at...you should respond to this bashing when you post it... post some GOOD responses, or something... That's all.

N64.com's response Pardon moi? (Read the next letter.)

Letter 2 Knowing how much I really loved Doom for the PC, I hate to say it, but I must agree that I was (at first) disappointed with Doom 64 ONLY because of the sprite animation looking like "rock'm, sock'm robots," and being spoiled by Turok enemies (better looking, but less of them). The sprites lack of frames really do detract from the overall experience at first, and remind you that you are only playing a game. BUT, in the long run, I am glad I bought Doom 64, and even though I have access to several PCs and the best of first person shooters (even Turok), I will play this one more than any of them. Aside from the 'jerky' sprites, once you play for at least 10 hours, you begin to forget this, and then start to really realize how this game excels in every other area. So, before you become discouraged, here are just a few of the great improvements:

1. The Environment graphics are silky smooth and remind me a lot of Quake in quality, becoming even more amazing with each level of progression, having a distinct doom style, (but much better). The textures high-res quality, style, variety, colors, and design are truly great looking, and the backgrounds are ALWAYS refreshing to look at, something Turok lacked in after extended hours of play.

2. If you love Doom, want more of the PC version, or you are only sick of the old levels, than I must say that this (in my opinion) is the best version of doom, definitely worthy of notice. If you did not like Doom, you will most likely not like this.

3. The intensity of Doom 64 is truly harsh, especially on "I want to die" difficulty setting, which I have reserved for later. Trust me, this one will keep the harshest Doomers happy for quite a while.

4. The level designs are brilliant. They are the most non-linear level designs that I have played. It is not OBVIOUS where you should go next... you have to use your noodle (especially your memory), and sometimes the solution is right under your nose. Where Turok was way repetitive in environments and level design, this game has a refreshing design and style for each new level. If you are a Doom fanatic and played the original for hours ALONE like I did (i.e. not always multiplayer), I suggest getting this game, although don't set your hopes up for Turok quality animation, but expect "Doom"... an outdated engine that has been cleaned up and redesigned better than ever, still one of the best games around...(now with analog control). All said, if you have any doubts, wait to rent this one, but if you do, play it enough to really appreciate the effort that went into it.

Letter 3 Everybody in the world is saying stuff about the bad dudes, "they don't have enough frames," wah wah wah! Personally, I go in there and rip the baddies apart before I have a chance to see what they look like. The only guy I am kinda dreading is the Shotgun Guy (Sergeant from original DOOM) who looks more like the Zombieman (Former Human) but blasts you big time when you're not really paying attention and skip him for a Hell Knight when you get buckshot in your back. Some poor sap wrote a review for [another site] saying that is good for a tired engine, this guy is obviously too stupid to realize that the new engine (or at least highly revamped one, like LucasArts did for Jedi Knight) is far more complex than the old one, allowing corridors that wrap around beneath another (level 6 of DOOM 64 is a perfect example, the point where you find a couple of Hell Knights in a corridor around the area with the yellow key) and other cool looking stuff.

I don't think that 3D modeled sprites are bad and the movement isn't as bad as other people claim. I think those people have just seen too much Turok, where the bad guys look cool but you only see 1 or 2 at a time, whereas in DOOM 64 the use of sprites allows a lot more bad guys to thump your ass all at once. If you still stubbornly hold the views that DOOM 64 sucks, to each man his wine and roses. I'll just settle down with a couple cases of Mountain Dew and some nachos and rid the Hell overtaken Phobos of the imps and demons we all love to kill and be splattered by.

Letter 4 Thanks for putting my letter on your page. I was the one who payed $115 for DOOM 64. But I'm a happy camper now, my friend works at a music store so the had a machine that wraps the CD's back up. So I asked him to do it to my game, and voila you couldn't tell the difference and I exchanged it for BLAST CORPS!

Letter 5 OK First of all, DOOM ROCKS!

Oh No! Not enough frames! The game sucks!!!!! Don't judge by the frames of a game, if you have fun with the game it is good, don't just look at graphics ( even though they are awesome) , look at gameplay. For the people who hated Doom, name a better Doom on another system? Saturn and PSX's doom suck! This Doom is hard and scary, Williams worked on it for awhile but it came out great, and for the people who go by graphics, go make your own game and see how it comes out. Thank you.

Letter 6 I wrote you a few days ago and of course it did not get posted. The two guys who bashed Doom 64 must understand that to change Doom totally would have killed it. The must understand that Doom must stay Doom sprite animation and all. I loved it a lot.

Letter 7 I've got to agree with your two readers' recent opinions. Doom 64 was THE game that I was waiting for, and it really is a letdown. Yes, the backgrounds are beautiful, the movement is good, and the music really sets a "Doomlike" mood, but it's shattered as soon as the baddies appear. The animated enemies ("sprites"?) look phony and two-dimensional, like fuzzy cardboard cutouts placed over the background. The light-sourcing, which is handled so well throughout the rest of the game, doesn't seem to affect the sprites either. It's a shame, because most of the game's achievements are overshadowed by this major flaw. Rent it first, folks -- it's still a rush to play late at night with the lights down low and the music up, but you may have second thoughts about laying down 80 bucks for this one.

Along similar lines, does anybody feel as I do that a 3D first person game just isn't really 3D without having 360 degree control over the camera? (or at least letting the character look around, as in Turok) I mean come on, if you design a 3D world, let's see it! I know this is the Quake vs. Doom issue, but with Super Mario 64 and Turok showing off the capabilities of the N64 so well, anything less is left looking like two-year-old software!

Letter 8 Concerning the two letters saying negative things about the N64 version of Doom 64, I just can't agree. I do agree with the points made concerning the awesome textures and mood-setting music, but the enemies?! Who in the world has time to admire and notice their "jerky animation?" I'm too busy gunning the suckers down, or just plain RUNNING from them to notice that!! The guys should mellow out, try the game again, and see what they think of it on the hardest setting and on level 9! I give the game a 9 out of 10.

Letter 9 I just recently purchased Doom 64, and I was very disappointed. This was probably heightened by the fact that I had just finished Turok, which is ten times the game that Doom 64 is. Turok had far superior enemy animation, better weapons, and overall just seemed like a sharper game. Given the contrast, I was surprised that your review of Doom 64 rated it as highly as you did. Granted, had I not played Turok I probably would not have been as disappointed with Doom. But after seeing what could be done with the hardware in Turok, playing Doom was like going back to the NES. Anyway, that's my opinion, for what it's worth. Keep up the good work.

Letter 11 I bought Doom 64 this weekend and I love it! My friend and I played it for 3 hours straight and we're both Doom fans and we both thought it was great. People have been complaining about the sprites being jerky, they are but because they are not actual 3D objects there is no slow down when you have 30 or so monsters attacking you. What it loses in 3D monsters it makes up in it's environment. The music and atmosphere are intense and the levels are great. The backgrounds and walls look really good. I think Midway decided to trade off excellent 3D monsters for speed and it works. I've also own Turok and although Doom 64 doesn't come close in terms of the 3D graphics. It is just as playable and fun. The only bad thing I have to say is the default controls suck. But when I set the controls up like Turok it makes it really fun. I think the best thing to happen to console games is Nintendo 64's controller. That controller brings shoot 'em ups to a whole new level of playability. Yes, it's not the best graphical game ever and Turok is a better shoot 'em up, but if you love Doom you'll really enjoy Doom 64.